Star Trek "Homing" & "Tracking"

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Report this Apr. 14 2006, 10:32 pm

This is not in reference to Trek.
I was reading a game manual, where they categorized weapons who follows their target as the 2 following category.
"Homing" - "Tracking"

Both words have similar meaning.
And functions look the same for weapons.

What's the difference between them?

Why are some weapons categorized as homing, while some others as tracking.

From what I can figure.
1 of them requires a target lock.
(The Computer points out its target to follow)

While the other requires certain elements to follow.
(Like Heat seekers follow heat sources)
:rookie:

Tannagra

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Report this Apr. 15 2006, 6:18 am

As far as i can ascertain;

Tracking would be used by sensors/scanners to feed data to the phasers and/or torpedos. This would enable the phaser array or the torpedo navigational computer to know where the target was.

Homing

This would be used solely by torpedos.

Example

The firing vessels sensors detect an enemy ship. The Tactical officer assigns the contact as hostile and the computer puts a sensor track on it. The ship is now 'Tracking' the target.

Once the targetting data is fed into the torpedo's onboard computer and the torpedo is fired it is said to be 'homing' in on its target.

Vold

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Report this Apr. 15 2006, 6:26 am

Assigning a target to be hostile, sounds like telling the computer where the target is.
isn't that the exact same thing?

How about this for homing.
in ST:VI
The Ent shoots a torpedo with a special sensor that will detect certain gas/whatever.
It does not rely on visual evidence. Wether the enemy is detectable visually or normal sensors are irrelevant.

It'll just follow what its program to "look for" in this case, its something the BoP is leaking.
flying randomly following its nose.

Tannagra

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Report this Apr. 15 2006, 7:12 am

Assigning a target designation just ID's the target and then then the computer keeps a track on it..eg. Romulan 1.

Ever seen the movie 'Hunt for Red October'. In it a Los Angeles class attack sub is trying to find the 'Red October' a Typhoon class ballisic missile sub.

There is a scene in the movie where they pick up a passive sonar contact..this is then designated something like 'Unknown 1' or something. From then on a new data track is kept of this unknown vessel.

Tracking and Homing do have similarities.

In the bush in Africa, game wardens etc do use tracking of animal sign to find animals. The thing is most of the time they are only partly sure where the animals went and so are doing a general 'track. Its only very near the end of the hunt that they 'home' into their quandry.

Some torpedos, present day included, can loiter with intent so to speak while active scanning. This is what the torpedo in STVI was doing. It was actively scanning the area for the BOP, making large sweeps, once it got a lock onto the target it homed in and detonated.

Vold

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Report this Apr. 15 2006, 7:25 am

EDITED
Thank you for your info, dunno about the rest ur saying.

but assuming ur saying the torpedo is scanning for the BoP directly.
It is not.

Its scanning for something the BoP is releasing. Using a scanner they use for gaseous anomalies.

Tannagra

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Report this Apr. 15 2006, 7:29 am

Quote (Vold @ April 15 2006, 7:25 am)

dunno about the rest ur saying,

but assuming ur saying the torpedo is scanning for the BoP directly.
It is not.

Its scanning for something the BoP is releasing. Using a scanner they use for gaseous anomalies.

And the difference is??

Trackers in Africa use Droppings, broken twigs, prints as animal sign. They dont track by visual means, meaning visually following the actual animal. The torpedo was tracking the plasma exhaust from the impulse drive; droppings so to speak.

Tracking and Homing can be part of the same process, but they are NOT sinonymous; not the same thing.

You can have tracking without homing. Commercial radar tracks hundreds of aircraft all the time, but no homing is involved.

Vold

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Report this Apr. 15 2006, 7:39 am

The difference I think is like this.

Tracking requires someone or something to lock on to a target. Selecting the target for the weapon to engage. And it'll only go after that target, even if something else the same is nearer to the missile.

Homing weapons, are designed specifically to find certain targets. Without the need to target.
Heat seekers - seeks high temperature targets.
Missile fitted with some sort of sensor, seeks out what the sensor was made to find.

So just blindly shoot the weapon, it'll find its target on its own. Wether or not its the right target it'll just hit the closest thing that peaks its sensors. Base on certain parameters.

Like maybe Dreadnought for example. Its looking for a Cardassian planet. Rather than being pointed out where the planet is. It searches for the planet base on known parameters.

Tannagra

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Report this Apr. 15 2006, 7:45 am

I think that's near abouts.

Vold

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Report this Apr. 15 2006, 7:53 am

Thanks again for your input.

Tannagra

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